Western Regional Office

The Western region covers the council areas of Fermanagh & Omagh, Armagh, Armagh City, Banbridge & Craigavon and Mid Ulster.

We have three offices covering this region in Omagh, Craigavon and Enniskillen.

Successes

We are committed to helping export focused businesses in the Western region grow and succeed. Between 2014/15 and 2018/19 our support totalled over £141m to over 5,600 business projects. This support has helped secure almost £970m of investment and is helping companies to create 7,775 jobs.

The western region is the home of Northern Ireland's only STEM Centre. It is also known for its flourishing materials handling sector which as attracted major international companies such as Terex GB, Sandvik, Kingspan and NACCO.

Investment examples include:

There is a great tradition of entrepreneurship in the Western region founded primarily on traditional sectors such as engineering, construction and agri-food. The region also has a strong food base and is the home of Moy Park Ltd, one of Europe’s leading poultry companies.

Exports

Our regional office focuses on growing businesses in Northern Ireland, through encouraging export focused start-ups and helping existing businesses grow in new markets.

The following companies are just some of the regions many export success stories:

Working in partnership

In addition to our direct support to businesses, we work in partnership with stakeholders to support activities that will help drive economic development in the regions.

Local stakeholders we work with include:

Community Plans

Our Western Regional Office has worked closely with Fermanagh & Omagh District Council, Armagh, Banbridge & Craigavon District Council and Mid Ulster District Council in the development of their community plans, identifying unique selling points that will help attract investment and growth to the area. The plans will play a role in developing the economy of the Western region. The Councils are also working collaboratively in the area in preparing a Growth Deal Plan for the Mid, South and West Region.

Ethna McNamee – Regional Manager

Ethna has been involved in economic development for more than 30 years. Prior to taking on the role of Regional Manager, Ethna has worked in a number of roles for Invest NI, previously working as a Client Executive managing a portfolio of growing companies across a range of sectors including Food, Advanced Manufacturing and Construction. She has also worked managing the Western Innovation Network on behalf of Invest NI and the Social Enterprise Hubs Programme.